Device to prevent fraudulent refilling of bottles.



J. T. HUMPHREY. DEVICE TO PREVENT- FRAUDULENT REFILLING OF BOTTLES.

APPLIUATIQN FILED APILS, 1911. RENEWED NOV 15, 1913. 1,082,872.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

WITNESSES I 9 v /NVENTOR 71 h JZ/z TH We. 7 a i JOHN THOMAS HUMPHREY, OF EAST HAM, ENGLAND.

DEVICE TO PREVENT FRAUDULENT REFILLING 0F BOTTLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

Application filed April 8 1911, Serial No. 619,918. Renewed November 15, 1918. Serial No. 801,284.

To all 107mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OI IN THOMAS HUM- PHREY, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residingat 21a High street north, East Ham, Essex, England, (whose post-oilice address is the same,) have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices to Prevent the F raudulent- Refilling of Bottles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices to prevent the fraudulent re-filling of bottles and similar vessels, and has for its object the production of a device to be attached to the vessel by the use of which the liquid containedin the vessel may be poured freely therefrom, but no liquid. can be introduced into the vessel without detaching the device from it.

The device comprises a cylindrical cap which fits over and is fixed to the neck of the vessel, having a hole or holes in its top to allow of the egress of liquid and the ingress of air. Within this cap, and near its top is carried a perforated disk the purpose of which is to limit the movement of, and form a seating for, the valve when the latter is in its open position. The valve is approximately hemispherical in shape and its under side, which rests upon the top of the neck of the vessel, may be padded with a disk of cork or other suitable material. In action the device described above in its simplest form operates as follows:lVhen the vessel is gradually tilted, the valve retains its seat upon the top of the neck of the vessel until the latter has passed some little distance past the horizontalthe upper hemispherical part of the valve resting upon the edge of the seating provided for it in the perforated disk carried by the cap. Upon the vessel being further tilted, the valve leaves the top of the neck and the hemispherical part of it falls into the seating in the perforated disk, the liquid flowing out through the top of the neck and the perforations in the disk and cap. If any attempt should be now made to introduce liquid into the inverted vessel by pressure the valve will immediately return to its seat upon the neck of the vessel, thus closing the opening in it, by reason of the pressure of the incoming liquid. It will be obvious that no attempt at introducing liquid into the vessel by attempting to pour it through the openings in the cap, while the vessel is in its normal upright position could succeed, because the valve by reason of its weight will have returned to its position upon the top of the neck of the vessel, thus closing the opening in it.

In carrying this invention into practice ithas been found advantageous to make the cap in two parts, the division being circumferential and the parts fitting one within the other, and providing a means for vertical adjustment between them. By this means the position of the perforated disk which is carried by the upper part of the cap may be adjusted to provide a variable opening for the valve, or it may descend so far as to prevent the valve opening at all. The movement between the two parts of the cap may be obtained by any suitable means, a convenient one being hereinafter described. The lower part of the cap may carry a diaphragm which forms a seating for the valve instead of mounting same directly upon the neck of the vessel. In the accompanying drawings which illustrate this invention, Figure 1. is a sectional view showing a simple form of the device. Fig. 2. is a sectional view showing another form of the device in which the cap is made in two parts, the valve being in its closed position. Fig. 3. is a corresponding side elevation. Fig. 4:. is a view in plan. Fig. 5. is a sectional View showing the valve in its open position, and Fig. 6. shows an alternative construction of the valve.

Throughout the views similar parts are marked with like letters of reference.

Referring to Fig. 1 the cap Z) which may be made of metal or other suitable material is attached by cement or other means to the vessel neck as. The valve a rests with its under side a made of cork or other suitable cap I; has holes 0 c in its top and carries a disk having holes 0 c at its sides and hav ing a circular hole in itsmiddle to provide a seating for the valve when the vessel is inverted for pouring out the liquid. The device operates as hereinbefore described.

Referring to Figs. 2, 3, 4L, and 5, the under side of the valve a instead of resting on the top of the neck of the vessel rests on a diaphragm 5 carried by the lower part b of the cap. The upper part b of the cap carries the perforated disk 6 as above described. The vertical movement between the two parts of the cap may be obtained by promaterial on the top of the bottle neck m. The i viding pins 6 Z2 in upper part Z2 adapted to work in helical slots 6 6 formed in the lower part 6. These slots are of such a pitch and length as to give the required movement between the parts 6 and b and at the same time limit the movement so that the upper part 5 cannot be entirely removed from the lower. The amount of movement required is from the lowest position in which the disk keeps the valve closed on its seating, to the highest position which will be one in which the valve has suflicient opening to allow a free passage for the liquid. Any intermediate position may be attained thus providing a means of regulating the fiow of the liquid. The parts should be so proportioned that the lower edge of b when in its highest position does not uncover the helical slots 6 As it may sometimes be advisable not to have any openings in the cap through which access might be obtained to its interior, the helical slots may take the form of depressions formed in one part, and for the pins working in these depressions may be substituted small projections upon the other part of the cap formed by a punch or similar tool. In order to prevent the valve being held open for refilling by the insertion of a piece of bent wire the holes 0 0 and c c in both constructions are arranged in staggered re lation to one another as may be seen in Fig. 4:, and the construction of the disk L} is such that access cannot be obtained to that part of the valve which projects through the cen tral hole which forms a seating.

Referring to Fig. 6, the alternative form of valve consists of a piece of glass, metal or other similar material of approximately hemispherical shape and has been formed to render good results without the use of any packing such as the cork disk a shown in the other figures.

The improved device above described operates substantially in the same manner as hereinbefore described to prevent the fraudulent re-filling of vessels. lVhen the vessel is empty it can only be re-filled by forcibly removing the device from the neck of the vessel, and after re-filling only the lower part b of the cap need be renewed when the device is again ready to be attached to the neck. a

It will be understood that when it is de sired to use the device with vessels which have seatings cast in their necks, the valve may work directly on this seating instead of either on the top of the neck or on a specially provided diaphragm.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what mannerthe same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is 1. A device for preventing the fraudulent refilling of bottles comprising, a cap adapted to be rigidly secured to the neckof the bottle and provided at its top with openings diametrically opposite each other, and an interior disk carried by the cap and provided with openings in staggered relation to the openings in the cap, said disk having an annular wall leading to the said cap, and provided at its central portion with an opening forming a seat for a hemispherical valve, and a valve adapted to allow the liquid to be poured out, but to prevent the introduction of liquid to the bottle.

2. A device for preventing the fraudulent refilling of bottles comprising, a cap formed in two parts, the lower part being rigidly secured to the neck of the bottle and carrying a diaphragm secured to said lower part, a valve seated on said diaphragm, a perforated disk secured to and forming the upper portion of said lower part, said disk having a central opening forming a seating for said valve, and also provided with an annular wall, and an upper part having openings therein diametrically opposite of the perforations in said disk, and means for adjustably securing the upper and lower parts together, substantially as shown and described. v Dated this ninth day of January 1911.

JOHN THOMAS HUMPHREY.

Witnesses:

F. SADLER, G. EnnLEsToN.

copies of this Patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. V 

